The Life is Unusual collection has instructed a number of robust tales with unforgettable characters throughout its a number of instalments, however chances are high, when you ask a collection fan what their favorite entry is, they’re going to go together with the unique. Dontnod Leisure and Sq. Enix’s 2015 authentic nonetheless holds a particular place within the hearts of many, and with Life is Unusual: Double Publicity, developer Deck 9 – the present custodian of the franchise – has undertaken the duty of delivering a sequel, with beloved protagonist Max Caulfield stepping again into the limelight. 

The choice to return to Max and make a direct follow-up to the unique recreation raised quite a lot of eyebrows, with many questioning how Double Publicity would be capable to not solely justify its personal existence, but in addition do justice to the unique by telling a brand new story round Max that feels robust sufficient to face toe-to-toe with what we’ve skilled prior to now. And whereas nothing will ever have the type of affect that the unique Life is Unusual did almost a decade in the past, I can confidently say that Double Publicity is a worthy sequel. It’s a welcome return for Max, a significant follow-up to her authentic story, and a very good new entry within the franchise, telling what may be considered one of its strongest tales thus far.

“Whereas nothing will ever have the type of affect that the unique Life is Unusual did almost a decade in the past, I can confidently say that Double Publicity is a worthy sequel. It’s a welcome return for Max, a significant follow-up to her authentic story, and a very good new entry within the franchise, telling what may be considered one of its strongest tales thus far.”

Set ten years after the unique, in Double Publicity, we discover Max at Caledon College in Vermont, the place she works because the resident photographer, the times of her time manipulation powers lengthy prior to now, however nonetheless a really distinct reminiscence. The peace and quiet she has present in her life, nevertheless, is quickly upended when she finds her finest pal Safi useless within the snow, following which her outdated powers awaken once more, however this time permitting her to not rewind time, however two soar between two totally different timelines- her personal timeline, and one the place Safi isn’t useless. Now, she hopes to make use of her powers to not solely discover out who killed her pal, however try to forestall the identical from taking place within the different timeline- all with the data that the final time she relied an excessive amount of on her time manipulation powers, issues didn’t finish properly.

The setup is a gripping one, and the sport does an unimaginable job of stacking layer upon layer because it hones in on its central thriller, and on quite a lot of events, it caught me unexpectedly with its twists and divulges. Simply as essential to the sport’s storytelling strengths, in the meantime, is Double Publicity’s solid of characters. There’s Max herself, in fact, who continues to be a splendidly endearing character, simply as she was within the collection’ debut outing, whereas she’s surrounded by a various solid of excellently developed personalities. From immediately lovable mates to sophisticated characters with sophisticated pasts to people who you easy like to hate to every little thing in between, Double Publicity’s solid is filled with a number of robust, well-written, and splendidly acted characters who every depart their very own mark and earn their place within the story.

However although Double Publicity’s story does largely function a self-sufficient one which doesn’t actually require any prior studying, this is, on the finish of the day, Max Caulfield’s second huge adventure- so how properly does it serve the function of being a sequel? On that entrance, I feel the sport does a great job of balancing between being a standalone entry and following up on the primary recreation. With out going into spoilers for both of the 2 instalments, Double Publicity does take each of the primary Life is Unusual’s endings into consideration, permitting you to decide on which of the 2 you need to go together with, and from that time ahead, by and huge, Max’s life in Arcadia Bay – from her historical past with Chloe to her time rewind powers – is basically background stuff that you just’ll discover loads of references to in texts, journal entries, conversations, and what have you ever, whereas the sport units up its personal largely separate story.

“Double Publicity successfully toes the road between telling its personal story for newcomers to take pleasure in with out having to fret about required studying, and telling a narrative that may returning followers will discover sufficiently rewarding.”

After all, that’s not fairly as true within the again half of the sport, the place the story does begin throwing in stronger and extra overt components which might be tied on to Max’s time in Arcadia Bay- which is about as a lot as I can say with out going into spoilers. Suffice to say, by and huge, I feel Double Publicity successfully toes the road between telling its personal story for newcomers to take pleasure in with out having to fret about required studying, and telling a narrative that may returning followers will discover sufficiently rewarding.

The sport’s choice-and-consequence mechanics, in the meantime, are additionally usually robust. Life is Unusual video games have by no means failed to stay the touchdown in that space, and Double Publicity doesn’t disappoint both. On quite a lot of events, the sport threw me into moments of determination the place I genuinely needed to take pause and take into consideration the alternatives I used to be being offered with, and about what the potential ramifications of my actions could be, and that was true not solely with huge, weighty determination, but in addition comparatively extra intimate and fewer vital decisions.

That’s to not say the sport has no storytelling points. As has typically been the case with this franchise through the years, Double Publicity isn’t at all times one of the best written recreation. To be honest, it definitely is among the collection’ higher written entries, and as is often the case with the Deck 9 instalments, the dialog largely feels fairly natural and pure. There are occasions, nevertheless, the place a number of the interactions between characters can really feel a bit awkward or stilted, whereas the sport additionally does have a tendency to often depend on mildly irritating contrivances to create what seems like unearned pressure or drama. That doesn’t occur too typically, however when it does, it’s fairly noticeable, and it does damage the credibility of the remainder of the story in flip, even when it’s by just a little bit.

“On quite a lot of events, the sport threw me into moments of determination the place I genuinely needed to take pause and take into consideration the alternatives I used to be being offered with, and about what the potential ramifications of my actions could be.”

On the gameplay entrance, Double Publicity performs precisely the way in which you’d anticipate a Life is Unusual recreation to play. Caledon College is a strongly realized setting, and strolling round in its snowy environments throughout two timelines is often fairly pleasing, whether or not you’re investigating attention-grabbing issues in your environment, partaking in conversations with any variety of characters, discovering non-compulsory objects and collectibles, or just strolling via nice environments.

Max’s new time powers, in the meantime, additionally elevate the gameplay in their very own manner. Max has the power to leap between two timelines, whereas she will be able to additionally see and listen to throughout timelines into whichever one she isn’t presently in in the intervening time. Each of these powers are used for puzzles again and again, and although issues by no means get too sophisticated, Double Publicity does preserve discovering methods to make Max’s powers enjoyable and fascinating to make use of. In actual fact, “easy but partaking” is an ideal strategy to describe the gameplay expertise right here as a complete, which, once more, is precisely what you’d anticipate from a Life is Unusual recreation.

Visually, in the meantime, Double Publicity is basically a formidable recreation. It received’t take your breath away by any means, however from the environments to the character fashions to their animations, the sport does look fairly sharp for essentially the most half. It does have its tough edges – I’ve run into texture pop-in points, animation bugs, and a few undeniably creepy facial actions throughout conversations – however nothing that comes near being game-breaking in any manner (in my expertise, no less than).

“Life is Unusual: Double Publicity is a superb sophomore outing for beloved protagonist Max Caulfield.”

Life is Unusual: Double Publicity is a superb sophomore outing for beloved protagonist Max Caulfield. Given how sacred so many nonetheless maintain the unique, it was no shock that there was some skepticism on the market there over whether or not Deck 9 would be capable to ship a sequel that doesn’t simply really feel like an affordable, nostalgia-baiting cashgrab, however that may be very a lot not the case. Double Publicity earns and justifies its existence from second one, and tells a gripping story that may preserve you hooked till the credit have rolled.

This recreation was reviewed on the Xbox Collection X.